From The China Blog – TIME:

It’s always a good idea to pay attention to pork, and I say that not just because it’s so tasty. In China pork is a leading economic indicator. It’s the most consumed meat, especially among the poor, and when prices have gone up over the past year consumers have squealed. The biggest complaint among foreigners and well-off Chinese I’ve heard this year has been about air pollution, but among common folk it is always the cost of the other white meat. When prices spiked over the summer, one of my Chinese neighbors kept track of how many days it had been since he had a taste. Reports out of south China indicate that in recent days the city of Guangzhou has seen its highest swine prices so far this year, indicating the worst may not be over. [Full Text]